Chocolate pansy
Chocolate Pansies bask with wings spread flat on sunlit ground, then vanish instantly when they snap them shut, since the closed wings look like a dead leaf.
| Where | Forest edges, clearings and hill country |
|---|---|
| Size | 28 to 35 mm forewing length |
| When | January to December |
The Chocolate pansy is a medium sized, chocolate brown butterfly with faint eyespots and wavy dark lines crossing both wings; the underside is darker still and patterned to resemble a dry leaf, with a small hook near each forewing tip.
Adults hold territories close to the ground and return repeatedly to the same sunny perch to bask. Caterpillars feed on acanth family herbs growing in shaded, damp ground, and adults fly year round with overlapping generations.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Brown
Active
Day
To people
Often seen basking on open ground; harmless to people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Peacock pansy has warm orange brown wings with a prominent row of eyespots near the hindwing margin, while the Chocolate pansy is darker chocolate brown with faint, less conspicuous eyespots.
Questions
Is the Chocolate pansy dangerous to people?
Often seen basking on open ground; harmless to people.
When can you see the Chocolate pansy?
The Chocolate pansy can be seen from January to December, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Swiss Natural History Collections - SwissNatColl, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Brush-footed butterflies›Junonia
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.